The Human Person as an Embodied Spirit PDF

THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT THE NOTION OF THE SOUL 1\. Pre-Socratic Thought 2\. Socratic Dualism 3\. Plato\'s Dualism 4\. Aristotle\'s View on the Soul 5\. St. Thomas Aquinas and the Nature of the Soul PRE-SOCRATIC THOUGHT \* Heraclitus, the father of universal change, believed in...

THE HUMAN PERSON AS AN EMBODIED SPIRIT THE NOTION OF THE SOUL 1\. Pre-Socratic Thought 2\. Socratic Dualism 3\. Plato\'s Dualism 4\. Aristotle\'s View on the Soul 5\. St. Thomas Aquinas and the Nature of the Soul PRE-SOCRATIC THOUGHT \* Heraclitus, the father of universal change, believed in the existence of the soul as an infinite part of a human being. \* He believed that the soul is associated with fire, and there is something in store for the soul the moment it leaves the body. \* The same belief of Heraclitus was shared by the Pythagoreans, the philosophers who believed that numbers are the first principle, contending that a human being is composite of body and soul. SOCRATIC DUALISM \* Believed that human nature is determined by one\'s soul. \* According to Socrates, knowledge paves the way for the perfection of the soul and enables a person to achieve the highest form of happiness. PLATO\'S DUALISM \* Plato also believed in the idea that a person is his/her soul. \* He argued that the soul did not come into existence with the body and it came to be prior to being joined in the body. \* As the body dies, the soul survives; hence, for Plato, the soul goes through a cycle of reincarnation or transmigration. \* The most important concept in understanding Plato\'s dualism is his theory which claims that everything that exists has a corresponding \"form\" or idea. PLATO\'S FOUR ARGUMENTS FOR DUALISM 1\. Life and Death ( The Cyclical Argument) 2\. Knowing is Reminiscing (The Recollection Argument) 3\. Incorruptibility of the Soul (The Affinity Argument) 4\. The Argument from the OppositesLIFE AND DEATH (THE CYCLICAL ARGUMENT) \* This is the cycle of transmigration or reincarnation of the soul. KNOWING IS REMINISCING (THE RECOLLECTION ARGUMENT) \* This banks on the idea that all knowledge is a form of remembrance or reminiscing on the part of the soul. INCORRUPTIBILITY OF THE SOUL \* Attempts to prove that the soul, arguing that it is capable to know immutable and eternal realities, must be immortal. THE ARGUMENT FROM OPPOSITES \* Claiming that the soul is the essence of a person \* Plato even considered the body as the tomb of the soul, and contended that one does not experience the true meaning of life as he/she is stuck in the body. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS AND THE NATURE OF SOUL \* Identified three divisions of the soul; the vegetative, the sensitive, and the intellect or rational soul. \* Vegetative soul- intrinsically dependent upon matter to survive. \* Sensitive soul- inherent to all animals,and is used for sensation and locomotion. \* Rational or Intellectual soul- specific and exclusive only to a human ARISTOTLE\'S VIEW ON THE SOUL For Aristotle, the soul is part of the body that animates it-meaning, the soul is what gives life to the body. Hence, the body and the soul are inseparable. Aristotle also claimed that the soul is not a substance, but a form that actualizes matter into composite being. This actualized being becomes the substance known as the embodied spirit. \* The self is composed of body and soul, mind and matter, sense and intellect, passion and reason. \* Perfection and happiness come from wisdom and virtue. \* Taught the theory of Golden Mean \* The Golden Mean means moderation; avoid extremes; avoid too much and too little. \* The self is composed of body and soul, mind and matter, sense and intellect, passion and reason. \* Perfection and happiness come from wisdom and virtue. \* Taught the theory of Golden Mean \* The Golden Mean means moderation; avoid extremes; avoid too much and too little. \* The Soul is the essence of the self\* Aristotle suggested that anything with life has soul \* His discussion about the self-centers on the kind of soul possessed by a man. \- He introduced the 3 kinds of soul 3 KINDS OF SOUL 1.Vegetative \* includes the physical bodythat can grow \* 2.Sentient/Sensitive \- includes the sensual desires, feelings and emotions \* 3. Rational \* is what makes man human. It includes the intellect that makes man know and understand things. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS AND THE NATURE OF SOUL \* Identified three divisions of the soul; the vegetative, the sensitive, and the intellect or rational soul. \* Vegetative soul- intrinsically dependent upon matter to survive. \* Sensitive soul- inherent to all animals, and is used for sensation and locomotion. \* Rational or Intellectual soul- specific and exclusive only to a human THE HUMAN MIND: THE LINK BETWEEN THE BODY AND SOUL \* The human mind is said to be the connection between the body and the soul as it possesses potentialities and faculties which are metaphysical in nature. \* The human mind is a powerful entity in itself. A human\'s complex character is so advanced that it could enable anyone to do things beyond imagination. FACULTIES OF THE HUMAN MIND 1\. Mental Faculty of Perception 2\. Mental Faculty of Reasoning 3\. Mental Faculty of Imagination 4\. Mental Faculty of the Will 5\. Mental Faculty of Memory MENTAL FACULTY OF PERCEPTION Perception is the faculty of apprehension by the senses. This is sometimes called one\'s point of view. The mental faculty of perception may be pertinently considered to be relative. MENTAL FACULTY OF REASONING The mental faculty of reasoning enables a person to form conclusions and render judgments based on facts and premises. But one\'s sense of reasoning is largely dependent on the amount of knowledge he/she has gained all throughout his/her lifetime, whether perceived by the senses or ideas gained through education or other intellectual activities MENTAL FACULTY OF IMAGINATION Also known as the ability to visualize, the faculty of imagination refers to the forming of images in the mind. When a person is forming an idea in his/her mind, he/she is creating an image corresponding to such particular idea as to how it is in reality. MENTAL FACULTY OF THE WILL The mental faculty of the will is also known as willpower. It is defined by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche as an internally motivated action. It is the inner drive in a person that enables him/her to do anything. With the mental faculty of the will, a person can perform beyond what he/she expects himself/herself to do MENTAL FACULTY OF MEMORY Memory is one\'s ability to retain, revive, recall, and recognize information. It is said to be a two-way process- retaining and recalling information-which means the memory stores information inside the mind, and pulls them back as the need arises. THREE TYPES OF MEMORY Sensory memory- enables a person to recall perceptions. Short-term memory- gives a person the ability to remember information without practice for a short period of time. Long-term memory- one that undergoes training, practice, and mastery.